The first bell ring festivity on September 1 this year will be held at over 1,300 primary and secondary schools and lyceums of Moldova. About 33,000 children will go to the first grade this year, a decrease of about 1,800 on last year, IPN reports.

During the 2016-2017 school year, the students at primary and secondary schools and lyceums will total approximately 340,000. According to the head of the Ministry of Education’s Pre-university Education Division Valentin Crudu, the first bell ring festivity starts at 8:30am. In order to prevent cases of sunstroke, the Ministry recommended that the festivity should not exceed 45 minutes.

In connection with the celebration of 25 years of the declaration of Moldova’s independence, the first class of the 2016-2017 school year will be entitled “The Republic of Moldova – a quarter of century”.